Into the Dead of Night
by Triscribe
Summary: In which Ministry of Magic officials are confused. "What do you mean, Harry Potter ran away from his relatives over the life of a dog? And who in Merlin's name approved his being placed with muggles in the first place!"
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The first time he saw the dog, Harry was perched in among the branches of a tree in the park, a position he often used as a retreat from Dudley's bullying. A low whine caught his attention, as the large black animal circled his tree a few times. It didn't look particularly scary, even looking up at Harry with clear sadness in its eyes. Before he could climb down to get a closer look, though, a pair of men in funny clothing with sticks in their hands walked by on the path, and the dog slipped away through the trees.

For the next few days, Harry often fancied he caught glimpses of the animal in the corner of his eye - nothing more than a big shadow, though, which would disappear the instant he turned to look properly. Then, that next Tuesday, the dog made a true reappearance and proved that it was without a doubt very friendly.

Well. Friendly to Harry, at any rate.

Dudley and some of the other schoolyard bullies had been chasing the nine year old, intent on giving him a good going over before the boy could reach Number Four Privet Drive and the meager safety of his cupboard. Harry was maintaining a decent lead of several yards when he suddenly tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. Stunned from his rather spectacular faceplant, there was only time for the boy to roll over and see his wickedly grinning cousin bearing down on him when the world suddenly went dark.

Something large and black stood over Harry's prone form.

And that something was growling fiercely at the suddenly terrified Dudley, the half a dozen boys gathered behind him doing nothing to bolster the boy's natural arrogance.

With a small snap and lunge forward, the dog provided enough incentive for the bullies to turn about and flee. Harry gaped at their retreating backsides, completely shocked that he'd just been spared a beating. Then his disbelief turned to fear as the big animal turned in place, so that it was still standing over him but they were nose to nose.

"Um... Hi?" Harry squeaked. The dog appeared to study him for a moment, before it gently licked the swelling redness where Harry's face had slammed into the sidewalk. Surprised by how soothing it felt, the boy didn't protest, and soon enough was laughing as he was bathed from head to toe, the dog's tail wagging happily. Eventually, when he was let up, Harry got to study the animal a bit more closely. The thick fur did a lot to hide the dog's thin frame, despite being tangled and matted a fair amount - not to mention grimy. "Haven't had a bath yourself in a while, have you boy?"

A pitiful whine answered him.

"Come on then, I've got just the thing." Leading the way through the neighborhood, Harry soon brought them to a house that was dark and closed up. "This is where the Johannesburg's live, but they're out of the country right now, on holiday." Around in the backyard, he had the dog sit beside the low garden wall, and then turned on the water hose spigot.

At first, Harry's new friend jumped in surprise at the appearance of the stream of water, but soon became fascinated by it. He leapt and bit at it several times, causing Harry to laugh. Once his energy was expended, though, the dog happily sat still and let himself he cleansed as much as was possible without soap. Harry also used his fingers to untangle as much of the knotted fur as he could, which in the grand scheme of things didn't have that big a result.

Still, what they ended up with compared to where they'd started was a huge improvement. The dog even waited until Harry had stepped away before shaking, so as to avoid getting the boy all soaked as well.

"I hope you're feeling better, boy." Harry grinned, petting him again and getting a lick in return. "I have to get back to the Dursleys, though. Aunt Petunia needs me to start making dinner soon."

The dog stared at him, seemingly in shock. Then he whined, tugging at Harry's sleeve as if begging the boy not to leave.

"I _have_ to go, or else Uncle Vernon will give me the belt. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon. I'll even bring you a bite to eat, if I can." With that, Harry stood, and started to leave the yard. He wound up having a big black shadow all the way to Privet Drive, and only there did the dog leave off from sticking to his side. The animal still watched from the end of the street, however. Harry looked back at him up until he was dragged in through the front door by his aunt, who screeched at him for being damp and late and covered in some sort of black hair.

 _A/N: IMPORTANT NOTICE_

 _This story is part of my HP Round Table Project. Every Thursday, I'm updating a different onf of seven Harry Potter AUs, so that over the course of seven weeks they all get a new chapter (since I have a history of losing inspiration and letting stuff sit stagnant for months at a time). After the first seven week period, I start over, but the order in which these stories are updated changes depending on what was the most popular during the previous chunk of time._

 _So, if you really like this or one of the others, be sure to let me know!_

 _-Triscribe_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Sirius got back to Number 12 Grimmauld Place after a week spent in the muggle world as a dog, he was in the foulest mood imaginable. Sitting in the library with a book on Blood Magic, Regulus assumed that the his brother's time spent watching the Potter lad hadn't gone well.

"You should have heard him, Reg! He has to make dinner for them! Gets the belt if he's even just a few minutes late! Godric, but I wish I'd been able to do more than growl at his unsightly cousin!"

"Technically, you _could_ have," Regulus said mildly, not looking up from his book. "You're just too much of a gentlewizard to go after muggles."

"I might. I swear to Merlin I might, if it turns out they've done anything else awful to Harry." Anger finally deflating, Sirius flopped over in a chair beside his younger brother. "He's too skinny, Reg. And quiet."

"And of course, no godson of Sirius Orion Black is allowed to be a 'quiet' child."

"Oh stuff it, you know that's not what I meant." The older man sighed again.

"Do stop acting so melodramatic, Siri, we'll get him out of there soon enough."

"You've been saying that for weeks now."

"Yes, well, I do have to find a way to replace all Dumbledore's wards without him catching on to us."

"And that's harder than sneaking me out of Azkaban?" Sirius snorted, before his face grew sombre. "I have thanked you for that, haven't I?"

"Many times now. Makes a nice change from all the years of pranks." Regulus blinked when a hand suddenly grasped his shoulder, and looked up into Sirius' earnest expression.

"Thank you, Regulus. And thank you for helping me get Harry, too."

"...You're welcome, Sirius. Now, I insist you go find something to occupy yourself with, and leave me to my research. Or do you not want to get that waif of a Potter into this house where he'll be fattened up and taught to be a wild hooligan?"

"Alright, alright, I'm going! ...Did I mention he gave me a bath?"

Even as he sent his brother off with a mild stinging hex, Regulus' lips were twitching into a faint smile. It had taken him a few years to recover from his misadventure in appropriating the Dark Lord's horcrux, followed by several more of lonely deliberation on what else to do with his life. Eventually, curiosity had led Regulus to try and investigate the matter of just what had led to his most un-dear master's supposed demise, and the lack of evidence surrounding the entire matter left an unpleasant weight in his gut.

Sirius punished for all the years of unpleasant pranking on innocent Slytherins? That, Regulus could get behind one hundred percent.

Sirius thrown into Azkaban, without a trial, for supposedly betraying a man he loved more than his actual brother? The break-out plans began forming immediately.

And so, the winter of 1989 saw the younger Black brother slip onto the prison's stormy shores, arrive unseen at a certain maximum security cell, and depart the same way with a Stunned Sirius in tow. The reunion afterward once they were safely ensconced at home went the full range on both sides from angered ranting to listless explanations to heartfelt apologies. At the end of it, the pair tentatively agreed to give being proper brothers again a try. It was tough going, at first, but a breakthrough arrived when Sirius decided he needed to check on Harry, and Regulus was able to give him a list of the most likely places the boy was squirreled away to.

(Admittedly, the residence of the Dursley family had not been on that initial list, and there were a few further places the brothers checked before Sirius even wondered about Lily's sister being a possibility.)

Which was how the pair came to be in their current predicament: namely, finding a way to get the boy away from his beastly relatives without kicking up too much of a fuss, so that by the time anyone discovered Harry's disappearance from Privet Drive he'd already be a fully legal ward of the House of Black - something that even Dumbledore's far-reaching arm wouldn't be able to do a thing about.

(Also admittedly, this task would be easier had someone not tumbled to Sirius' escape from Azkaban quite so quickly, and thus unleashed Auror patrols upon any given number of settlements throughout the nation.)

But, as it was once said, nothing worth doing was ever easy. And for the first time since before their years at Hogwarts, Regulus was determined to back his brother up with all the assistance he needed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry had been both utterly astonished and beyond delighted when the dog returned, becoming his very large shadow on all the walks to and from school. He'd expected Tuesday's bath to be the last true interaction he'd have with the animal, only to be proven wrong. That Wednesday, Thursday, _and_ Friday, he had a friend and bodyguard to accompany him, scaring Dudley away only minutes before happily racing through the neighborhood's park with Harry.

For someone who'd not had a true companion before, those three days were absolutely wonderful.

And then Dudley complained about the dog to his parents.

Harry spent more than twenty four hours between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening locked in his cupboard, told rather firmly that freaks weren't allowed to have pets when he was finally let out to fix dinner.

Monday, Vernon took the time to drive both the boys to school, and Petunia came to pick them up again that afternoon. Watching out the window both trips, Harry felt his spirits dampen when there was no sign of the dog. He was rather listless that evening, while the Dursleys all congratulated themselves on making sure that the 'filthy stray' realized it wouldn't be getting any handouts from the Freak.

Whatever vague hope Harry had on Tuesday morning vanished when he went the entire walk to his primary school without a glimpse of the familiar black figure. Dudley and his gang made sure to corner and pummel him on the playground at recess, too, triumphant that their world had returned to its natural order.

Head down as he headed out of the building that afternoon, Harry almost didn't notice the figure waiting by the school's gates. It took a big, wet nose suddenly stuck in his face for the boy to look up. And then he broke out into an beaming grin.

"You're back!"

For the next ten minutes after that, he simply pet and rubbed and scratched every part of the dog he could reach, and the animal soaked up all the attention happily before returning it with licks to Harry's face and hands. Eventually, he reluctantly started heading back to the Dursley home, but every step along the way felt lighter with his friend back again.

Then they reached the end of Privet Drive, and Harry stopped.

"If they know you're back," he said, at the dog's confused expression. "I'll get locked in my cupboard without meals again, maybe even longer this time. Will you- will you still be around when I get out?"

If possible, the animal looked downright alarmed by the boy's words. He took hold of Harry's sleeve with his teeth, and gently tugged him back the way they'd come.

"I can't just leave, boy." Harry told him sadly. Huffing, the dog released his sleeve, but practically plowed into the nine year old's chest for a moment. Harry returned the hug, then squared his shoulders and set off down the street, leaving his sad friend behind.

Having assumed correctly, it was into the cupboard with no dinner that night. And for the next couple days, Harry wasn't even allowed out to go to school, though Aunt Petunia did him some water and a few pieces of slightly stale bread. On Friday, he was driven to and from school with Dudley again, before being locked in the cupboard all weekend long.

Monday morning, the dog allowed Harry to see him from a few houses away, but didn't approach, which the boy was grateful for. But then, that afternoon, the animal snuck up to him on the walk home when no one else was around, carrying a small knapsack of all things.

Inside it, Harry found a big bottle of water, two meat sandwiches, three apples, several fresh carrots and a block of chocolate. Stunned, he stared at the dog, whose tail was wagging almost quicker than the eye could follow. Then, after stowing the knapsack inside of his larger school bag, Harry hugged the animal for all he was worth.

"You're the best dog _ever."_

Harry got an answering chuff as though it were an agreement.

"You had to have gotten this stuff from somewhere, though..." Glancing furtively around, Harry ducked behind a nearby hedge to look the dog in the eye. "I'm not supposed to say this word, because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon both get really mad and say it's not real if I do, but... are you a _magic_ dog?"

To the boy's astonishment, the animal immediately drew himself up and nodded.

"Wow."

The solemn moment was then utterly destroyed when the dog ducked forward to lick Harry full across the face.

"Ack!" Laughing, Harry pushed his friend over, before insisting he had to get back to the house and hide the food before anyone knew he had it. "I'll be alright with these, though. Thank you _so_ much." They parted ways again, the boy heading off to his relatives' home and the dog to wherever it was he stayed when not being Harry's friend.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"He _said,"_ Sirius fumed, pacing about the drawing room. "And I _quote:_ 'I'm not supposed to say this word because Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon both get really mad and say it's not real if I do!' About _magic,_ Regulus!"

"Yes, I heard you the first dozen times." Despite his calm demeanor, though, the younger wizard was outraged as well. It was one thing for a muggleborn raised by their own family to not believe in magic before receiving their Hogwarts letter, but for any magical child born to a witch and wizard, let alone Harry bloody Potter, to say such a thing... Regulus was suddenly inclined to go along with his brother's desire to remove the child from his relatives even without the counterwards ready to go.

Fortunately, they only had another two days or so of waiting before those preparations were complete.

The stone that Regulus was slowly but surely chiseling runes into for the purpose of mimicking Harry's magical signature was almost finished. Then, all they'd have to do would be touch a drop of the boy's blood to it for activation, sneak him out under his relatives' noses and the trio would retreat back to Grimmauld Place. Then, the fun explanations of magic could begin...

Sirius, though, wasn't quite looking that far ahead.

"I've to get him out right away," the animagus was muttering as he continued to pace. "No more waiting, no more _starving_ him, I-"

"You are going to sit down and drink something before you expire." Regulus ordered, getting to his feet. "We have to stick to the plan, Sirius. Or else Dumbledore will _know_ Harry's gone, and probably blame you, in which case they'll try barging in here again to search." And hadn't _that_ been a fun day of ducking about. Regulus had undergone careful schemes after his theft of the Dark Lord's horcrux years before to make the Wizarding World assume him dead, while still working behind the scenes as Lord of the House of Black. He'd not needed any of Dumbledore's manipulations in his life, nor any of his former Death Eater comrades coming to exact revenge on him for turning traitor. All of which meant, that when the Aurors came to Grimmauld Place looking for Sirius, the two brothers had needed Kreacher's help to keep one step ahead of them. Putting the house under the Fidelius would have been the simplest way to avoid such headaches, but also would've made it painfully obvious to anyone aware of the home that _someone_ was hiding there.

Sirius swore again, and punched the wall. Regulus rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics, before using his wand to force the older man to sit down.

"Calm. Down." He ordered, putting a bit of the Lord Black tone into the words. Sirius glared up at him, but remained silent. "Now. If you can't bring yourself to wait until we're ready, then I will be happy to have Kreacher seal you in your room until the stone's fully prepared."

"I'll manage." Sirius grumbled, sinking down into a sulk.

"Good. Let's have some dinner, then."

For the rest of the evening, Regulus kept a close eye on his brother, until he had to return to working on the key to sneaking Harry away from his relatives. Even so, he ordered Kreacher to make sure that Sirius didn't leave the house during the night, otherwise it was practically guaranteed the older wizard would slip off to Privet Drive.

Unfortunately, Regulus dropped off to sleep sometime after one in the morning, and neglected to alter his order to the house elf...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Harry woke up to hear his Aunt shrieking.

Scrambling up off of his cot, the boy pressed as close to the door of his cupboard as possible in an effort to figure out what was going on. Underneath Aunt Petunia's screams, there seemed to be... growls?

Uncle Vernon's bellows soon joined the noise, followed by Dudley's frightened shouts, and it took nearly ten minutes for the noise to transfer outside, indicating that the Dursley's had fled their house for some reason.

Suddenly nervous, Harry scrambled back away from the door. He didn't know what could be terrifying enough to chase his relatives off, but such a thing probably wouldn't bode well for him.

...At least, that was the boy's line of thought up until a familiar whine sounded just outside his door.

Gasping, Harry threw himself forward once again, peering through the slats as best he could. "What are you doing here, boy?"

Only another whine answered him, followed by scratching. A few moments later, the dog's claws were able to catch on the cupboard latch, unlocking it and allowing Harry to push the door open. He was immediately knocked back by the frantic animal, who insisted on sniffing and licking every part of the boy that he could reach. Harry couldn't resist letting a few giggles loose, which served to only make the dog even more excited.

"Okay, okay, enough!" Pushing his friend back, Harry stuck his head out the door to peer around. Sure enough, the front door of the house was wide open, the voices of his relatives drifting in from the front yard. Peering around the darkened hall and what he could see of the sitting room, Harry came to the conclusion that the dog must have maneuvered to scare the pants off the three Dursleys, eventually chasing them out of their own home.

Harry blinked.

Both his cupboard and the house's front doors were open.

He still had half the food his canine friend had brought him.

And said dog was whining as he looked between Harry and the front yard.

Nervous, Harry considered the possibility of running away, weighing benefits against very stark concerns. His mind was made up, though, when his uncle's voice drifted in from outside, saying something about making a run to retrieve his shotgun.

Instantly, the boy dove back into his cupboard, tugging on two layers of his day clothes, stuffing his feet into ratty old trainers and shoving his handful of scavenged toys into his school bag. The dog watched silently, practically bouncing in place, until Harry was ready to go. Both of them raced for the front door, darting out into the frigid night air and inciting startled cries from the Dursleys.

"BOY! Get back here!" Uncle Vernon roared. Harry ignored him in favor of running onward, the dog barking happily beside him. They kept up their pace until making it a good three blocks away from Privet Drive, where Harry had to slow down and catch his breath.

"I'm running away," he mumbled, with an incredulous grin. "I'm _actually_ running _away-_ I can't believe it!"

The dog barked again, lips pulled back in a grin and tongue lolling out.

"Except... Someone might find us and send me back." Harry bit his lip. "And they'd probably send you somewhere else. So, we've got to find a place to hide where no one will find us." He looked expectantly at his friend, as the clearly highly-intelligent animal seemed to have a knack for knowing exactly what he was talking about.

Sure enough, the dog took hold of his sleeve and tugged, directing Harry to follow him. The pair started walking, past the park, out of Little Whinging entirely into another of Surrey's neighborhoods. It being a few hours off from dawn, no one was about, and the two got to play a bit as they traveled. At one point, they crossed what Harry believed to be a golf course, before passing into a bit of proper woodland. When the dog found an old tree whose roots were partially exposed, he nudged Harry into the little cave of sorts that was formed by them, then curled up as well.

Warm, content, and feeling fairly safe all things considered, it wasn't long before the boy nodded off into deep sleep.

Several hours later, he was awoken by the sound of irritated grumbling.

Shifting slightly where he was pinned in place by his furry companion, Harry carefully peered out into the woods. Further off, he could just barely make out the shape of a man walking in their direction.

Stirring, the dog lifted his head as well, blinking blearily. Harry tried to signal his friend to stay silent, but as soon as he heard the approaching voice the dog barked twice. The grumbling stopped, replaced by louder and louder footsteps. Shrinking back into his meager shelter, Harry watched with wide eyes as a dark-haired man came to stand before them.

The man stared at the dog. He glanced at Harry. He looked back down to the dog, and sharpened his gaze into a glare. "You wretched fool. You couldn't have waited another day and a half, could you."

Harry's friend let out a whine.

"Nothing to be done about it now, I suppose." Sighing, the man met Harry's eyes once more. "Hello, Mister Potter."

The boy's jaw dropped. "H-how do you know who I am?"

"To put it simply, I'm something of your estranged goduncle." The man gestured towards the dog, who finally got to his feet and took a step back from them both. "And this idiot would be your proper godfather."

If Harry wasn't already gaping, he'd do so again when the dog suddenly shifted, turning into another dark-haired man crouched on the ground beside him. "Hullo, Harry," he said sheepishly. "I, uh, apologize for the deception, but there wasn't really any other way to visit you."

"W-what? I-I-I mean, h-how...?"

"Well, for now, let's just say your Aunt and Uncle were outright lying whenever they'd say magic wasn't real. Oh, and I'm Sirius, by the way, Sirius Black, and this is my brother Regulus. But you're welcome to call us Padfoot and Uncle Reg, respectively." He grinned, but Harry could see fear in his eyes. "And, in case it wasn't obvious by my breaking you out in the middle of the night, we don't want you to have to stay with the Dursleys anymore."

 _That_ got Harry's mind to snap back to a functioning state. "Really?"

Sirius nodded. "I really am your godfather, kiddo. I wasn't able to come get you before, because I was framed for a crime I didn't do and Reg only recently broke me out of prison, but now- well, I was supposed to take care of you after your parents died, and I ought to make good on the promise I made them."

"But," Harry nervously tugged at his too-big clothes. "But I'm a burden. And a freak. Nobody wants me."

Both the brothers' eyes darkened. "Harry James Potter," Sirius said, in a slow and solemn voice. "You are not a freak. You have magic, the same as your mother and father before you. You are not a burden, and never will be, whether I still have access to my family's fortune or not. And I very, _very_ much want you, supposed faults or not. Why else would I willingly terrorize your cousin and aunt and uncle and come scratching at your door?"

Harry had to blink back an unexpected wetness in his eyes. "O-okay. I guess, okay. But, magic?"

Regulus promptly drew forth a stick out of his sleeve, pointed it at a fair-sized rock nearby, and said, "Wingardium leviosa." The whole thing rose a few feet into the air, causing Harry to gape again.

"I first met your folks when we were all on the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry when we were eleven," Sirius told him in a fond tone. "Now, I don't know what lies you may or may not have been told about those two, but I promise to start setting the story straight at breakfast, alright?" His grin grew wider when Harry's tummy rumbled, and the boy slowly nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you both at the house, then," Regulus said a split second before spinning around and vanishing with a soft _crack._ Sirius extended a hand to Harry, which he cautiously took, both of them getting to their feet. Then the man unexpectedly pulled him into a hug.

"I promise, Prongslet," he whispered. "I'll do everything I can to keep you safe and happy." A moment later, Harry felt as though he was being squeezed through a narrow tube, before unexpectedly landing on ground that definitely wasn't forest floor. Sirius gave him a soft nudge, prompting the boy to untuck his head and look around.

They were standing on the front walk of a rather imposing house, which Regulus was standing in the open door of. "Well? Are you two going to come inside or not?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Practically giddy with excitement, Sirius led his godson into the Black Family Home, pointing out such things as the redone decorations and the spot where a portrait of his mother used to hang. (Clashing over the matter of Slytherin green versus Gryffindor red, the brothers had decided early on to change to a tasteful brown and cream color scheme, occasional accents of warm grey and gold added in. As for the portrait of Walburga Black, she'd been moved to one of the upstairs sitting rooms, where Sirius could avoid her and Regulus could visit as much or as little as he liked.) None of it meant anything to young Harry, but he could appreciate the good cheer as his unexpected guardian showed him around.

They had to calm the boy down a bit when Kreacher popped in to announce that breakfast was ready, followed by needing to calm _themselves_ down as, after hearing a description of the house elf's tasks and duties, Harry noted aloud that it was a similar life to that he'd had with the Dursleys.

When the three of them entered the dining room, Sirius bit back a grin at how wide Harry's eyes got from the impressive spread of food set out for them. After setting his backpack to the side, they took their places at the table, both brothers actively encouraging their new charge to eat as much as he could.

Only when Harry claimed he was absolutely stuffed did Sirius leave off trying to pile more onto his plate. Then, Regulus shot his brother a significant look, causing him to sigh.

"Alright, kiddo," the older man said. "How about I get started with a story, and you ask any questions who can think of once I'm finished, okay?"

"Okay."

"Right then. So, about a decade back, Britain's magical world was caught up in a nasty war..."

What followed was a slightly toned-down summary of the chaos Voldemort (or the Dark Snorter as Sirius preferred to refer to him) and his followers caused, while the Ministry of Magic was barely able to keep running let alone do anything substantial to stop them. He briefly mentioned the Order of the Phoenix, which the Potters and many of their closest friends had been part of, and how Dumbledore led them in the fight against the Death Eaters. Regulus cut in at one point, mentioning his inclusion in the latter group until finally changing loyalties and nearly dying because of that.

When the narrative finally reached Halloween of 1981, Sirius had to take a moment to compose himself. He didn't share all the details, simply informing Harry that a former friend, Peter Pettigrew, had betrayed the location of the Potters to Voldemort, who wanted to kill them all because of the defiance James and Lily had shown to him in the past and his belief that Harry would grow up to be a powerful enough wizard to actually defeat him.

Seeing his brother getting more upset as he went on, Regulus finished the tale himself, explaining how Sirius pursued Pettigrew only to be framed for the betrayal himself, and locked into a terrible prison for eight years afterward.

"As soon as I'd regained my strength and figured it all out, I broke in to liberate him," the younger man said with a shrug. "I would have gone through proper legal channels to do it, but, well, I can count on one hand all the people who know I'm alive, and anyone else would denounce me for being a Death Eater before I could get two words out."

"Right after Reg freed me, we started looking for you, Prongslet," Sirius spoke up again. "It took a while, and all I'd really wanted was just to check up on you, make sure you were happy and doing alright..."

"But then I told you a bit about the Dursleys," Harry said when the man trailed off, his eyes widening in realization. "And you decided to get me out?"

Sirius chuckled as Regulus rolled his eyes. "He wouldn't stop hounding me about coming up with plans to slip you out unnoticed," the latter informed the boy. "Only to blow it out the water when he snuck off in the wee hours of this morning to retrieve you."

When Harry blinked at his godfather, the man grimaced. "I was already unhappy about leaving you be after hearing some details, but the fact that those, those _people,_ hadn't told you anything about magic was the last straw. Because if they insisted _it_ wasn't real, I didn't want to know what you went through every time you actually _did_ some."

The boy blinked. "I've done magic?"

"Well, I assume so, anyway. Ever done something inexplicable, when you were upset or really, really wanted something?" They could practically see Harry's eyes light up as he understood.

"Yeah! I was running away from Dudley and his gang on the school grounds a couple months ago, and just when it seemed like they were about to grab and pound me, I was on the roof!"

Both Blacks felt their eyebrows go up.

"And when I was little- well, more little- I got really annoyed when my teacher punished me for cheating off of Dudley again, and all of a sudden her wig turned blue!"

Sirius burst out laughing while his brother simply smirked. "And did you cheat off of you cousin?" Regulus asked.

"Of course not, _he's_ the one who steals _my_ answers. But I can't ever complain, because Aunt Petunia warns all my teachers that I'm the one who's a troublemaker."

"Well, you won't ever have to deal with that again!" The elder brother announced, leaning over in his seat to ruffle Harry's hair. "From now on, I'm going to make sure you learn how to do pranks properly!"

"Though I sincerely hope one of the first lessons you teach him will be on identifying _proper_ targets." Regulus said with a glare. Sirius flapped his hands in response.

"Yes, Reg, because this one's _obviously_ going to resemble his bullying relatives in any way."

"I don't want to be like the Dursleys," Harry said instantly.

"See? I promise, between that and your strange morals, we'll make sure Prongslet doesn't prank anyone who doesn't deserve it."

"...Fine."

"Excellent!"

That decided, Regulus turned the conversations to what subjects Harry had learned in school, what he liked, what he could use some help with. The man didn't disparage any of the muggle courses, though he did sneer when the boy admitted to deliberately making mistakes in order to keep his grades on level with Dudley's. Harry made sure to promise, though, to stop that habit with any material they gave him to learn - which would be easy, anyway, since he was going to get lessons on magic and didn't have anyone else around to be a bad influence.

By the time they left the dining room to head upstairs, all three were feeling hopeful if not outright excited for what the days ahead would look like.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"What. Were. You. Thinking." Every person in the room flinched away from the steel in Amelia Bones's voice - all except for Albus Dumbledore, anyway, though even he seemed to deflate ever so slightly.

"My dear, I'm sure you of all people won't disparage the tradition of next of kin taking in young orphans-"

"I won't disparage it in general, Albus, but I damn well can disagree with it when the next of kin in question are muggles who continuously and unashamedly insulted my Aurors over their magic when they investigated the home." Amelia stepped further into the meeting room, closing in on Dumbledore and lowering her voice to a growl at the same time. "Did you actually place any monitoring wards on that house when you apparently dumped Harry Potter on the doorstep eight years ago? Anything at all in the way of keeping an eye on his well-being? Or just something to let you know when he left the area for more than a week's time?"

The old wizard deflated a bit more.

"There'll be time enough to lay blame in its due corners later, Director," Professor McGonagall said quietly, taking a few steps forward to stand beside the pair. "What matters at the moment is locating Harry before any irreversible harm befalls him."

Dumbledore started to open his mouth, ostensibly to offer a suggestion, but he hastily reversed course at the dire glare his deputy shot him.

"Now _that,_ Minerva, I won't argue with. Scrimegour, Shacklebolt! I want both of you to call in teams to start searching the area around Surrey - I don't care where you get them from, even if the force looking for Black gets depleted. There's a pensieve in Briefing Room Three with memories from Potter's relatives about him, make sure everyone sent out looking goes there first. I also want an expert from Magical Beast Control here as soon as possible, in case that dog is more than it appears."

"Dog?"

Amelia sighed irritably at the inevitable question. "Just, go review the memories. I don't think I could adequately explain it."

That order worked for her subordinates and the volunteer searchers, but there was one person she did have to explain it to - a rather distressed man with a lime green bowler hat, to whom Amelia had to report to less than an hour later in his office.

"What do you mean, Harry Potter ran away from his relatives over the life of a dog?" Cornelius Fudge demanded. "And who in Merlin's name approved his being placed with muggles in the first place?!"

"It's a long story, Minister," Amelia sighed. "To be brief, Albus Dumbledore took the infant Mister Potter straight to his aunt's home in Surrey after You-Know-Who's defeat. From our initial investigations, it has become abundantly clear that he did not properly inspect her family beforehand, or maintain a proper watch afterward, and the lack of accountability meant that they, well... For all intents and purposes, Potter has been their house elf for the last several years."

Fudge paled.

"As far as we can tell, this stray dog was the first creature to befriend Potter, and when it snuck into the Dursley home nine nights ago, causing the muggles to panic, the pair ran off together. Since then, neither one has been seen in the neighborhood - we can only assume they've gone somewhere together where they can hide amongst a homeless muggle population."

"But, but surely if he were that willing to leave his home, Potter would come to the wizarding world-!"

"That's a problem in its own right, Minister. The Dursleys never told him anything about it; Harry Potter has no idea he's a wizard, that magic is real, or that there are any number of people from our world who would jump at the chance to either help or kill him."

-HP-

"So, what's the difference if you stir it the wrong way?"

"It's all in the magical energy you're imparting into the potion - if you stir one way or the other, it affects whether your magic bonds positively or negatively with the power already inherent in the ingredients. So if you do the opposite of what the recipe calls for..."

"Then, the ingredients react the opposite of what you want them to do?"

"Or something to that effect - at any rate, the potion certainly does _not_ do what you intended."

Nodding, Harry resumed concentrating on chopping up the ingredients Regulus needed. The man himself was carefully monitoring the green-colored liquid in his cauldron, calling periodically for one thing or another. From time to time, Sirius would poke his nose into the room, sigh disparagingly, and disappear again. Kreacher, too, would check on them, though he did it under the pretense of trundling into the laboratory to clean something or another.

All in all, it was a very peaceful way to spend the day - more so than when Sirius dragged him into a 'pranking lesson,' at least...

"Have you put any more though into how you want to decorate your bedroom?" Regulus asked at one point. Harry bit his lip.

"Well... I don't mind leaving the walls brown, but painting them something brighter would be nice too."

Regulus gave him a flat look, prompting the boy to take a deep breath.

"Uncle Reg, would it be alright if we changed the walls of my room to a brighter color?"

"Of course it's alright, Harry. I'll bring in some paint cards for you to take a look at this afternoon - it'll be good practice of the Color Changing Charm until you find something you like, and then we'll make it permanent. How does that sound?"

"Brilliant!"

He ended up picking a cheery blue just a shade or two darker than the noonday sky, and also swapped out the cream colored curtains for a grassy green. When Sirius saw the changes, he laughed, congratulating Harry on finally asserting himself a bit and offering to put up some Quidditch-style decorations.

"Maybe," the boy said quietly. "I mean, you've explained it, and it sounds great, but I don't really think we ought to waste money on that sort of thing until after I know whether I'm a fan, yeah?"

"It wouldn't be a waste of money, kiddo, but I see your point. It's perfectly alright to want to wait - I do have another idea you might like, though..."

That night, when Harry laid down to go to bed, he smiled up at his ceiling, where the blue paint had been darkened and decorated with thousands of pinprick lights, softly glowing in all different colors.


End file.
